Himalaya Email CLI
Himalaya is a CLI email client that lets you manage emails from the terminal using IMAP, SMTP, Notmuch, or Sendmail backends.
References
references/configuration.md(config file setup + IMAP/SMTP authentication)references/message-composition.md(MML syntax for composing emails)
Prerequisites
- Himalaya CLI installed (
himalaya --versionto verify) - A configuration file at
~/.config/himalaya/config.toml - IMAP/SMTP credentials configured (password stored securely)
Installation
bash# Pre-built binary (Linux/macOS — recommended) curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pimalaya/himalaya/master/install.sh | PREFIX=~/.local sh # macOS via Homebrew brew install himalaya # Or via cargo (any platform with Rust) cargo install himalaya --locked
Configuration Setup
Run the interactive wizard to set up an account:
bashhimalaya account configure
Or create ~/.config/himalaya/config.toml manually:
toml[accounts.personal] email = "you@example.com" display-name = "Your Name" default = true backend.type = "imap" backend.host = "imap.example.com" backend.port = 993 backend.encryption.type = "tls" backend.login = "you@example.com" backend.auth.type = "password" backend.auth.cmd = "pass show email/imap" # or use keyring message.send.backend.type = "smtp" message.send.backend.host = "smtp.example.com" message.send.backend.port = 587 message.send.backend.encryption.type = "start-tls" message.send.backend.login = "you@example.com" message.send.backend.auth.type = "password" message.send.backend.auth.cmd = "pass show email/smtp"
Hermes Integration Notes
- Reading, listing, searching, moving, deleting all work directly through the terminal tool
- Composing/replying/forwarding — piped input (
cat << EOF | himalaya template send) is recommended for reliability. Interactive$EDITORmode works withpty=true+ background + process tool, but requires knowing the editor and its commands - Use
--output jsonfor structured output that's easier to parse programmatically - The
himalaya account configurewizard requires interactive input — use PTY mode:terminal(command="himalaya account configure", pty=true)
Common Operations
List Folders
bashhimalaya folder list
List Emails
List emails in INBOX (default):
bashhimalaya envelope list
List emails in a specific folder:
bashhimalaya envelope list --folder "Sent"
List with pagination:
bashhimalaya envelope list --page 1 --page-size 20
Search Emails
bashhimalaya envelope list from john@example.com subject meeting
Read an Email
Read email by ID (shows plain text):
bashhimalaya message read 42
Export raw MIME:
bashhimalaya message export 42 --full
Reply to an Email
To reply non-interactively from Hermes, read the original message, compose a reply, and pipe it:
bash# Get the reply template, edit it, and send himalaya template reply 42 | sed 's/^$/\nYour reply text here\n/' | himalaya template send
Or build the reply manually:
bashcat << 'EOF' | himalaya template send From: you@example.com To: sender@example.com Subject: Re: Original Subject In-Reply-To: <original-message-id> Your reply here. EOF
Reply-all (interactive — needs $EDITOR, use template approach above instead):
bashhimalaya message reply 42 --all
Forward an Email
bash# Get forward template and pipe with modifications himalaya template forward 42 | sed 's/^To:.*/To: newrecipient@example.com/' | himalaya template send
Write a New Email
Non-interactive (use this from Hermes) — pipe the message via stdin:
bashcat << 'EOF' | himalaya template send From: you@example.com To: recipient@example.com Subject: Test Message Hello from Himalaya! EOF
Or with headers flag:
bashhimalaya message write -H "To:recipient@example.com" -H "Subject:Test" "Message body here"
Note: himalaya message write without piped input opens $EDITOR. This works with pty=true + background mode, but piping is simpler and more reliable.
Move/Copy Emails
Move to folder:
bashhimalaya message move 42 "Archive"
Copy to folder:
bashhimalaya message copy 42 "Important"
Delete an Email
bashhimalaya message delete 42
Manage Flags
Add flag:
bashhimalaya flag add 42 --flag seen
Remove flag:
bashhimalaya flag remove 42 --flag seen
Multiple Accounts
List accounts:
bashhimalaya account list
Use a specific account:
bashhimalaya --account work envelope list
Attachments
Save attachments from a message:
bashhimalaya attachment download 42
Save to specific directory:
bashhimalaya attachment download 42 --dir ~/Downloads
Output Formats
Most commands support --output for structured output:
bashhimalaya envelope list --output json himalaya envelope list --output plain
Debugging
Enable debug logging:
bashRUST_LOG=debug himalaya envelope list
Full trace with backtrace:
bashRUST_LOG=trace RUST_BACKTRACE=1 himalaya envelope list
Tips
- Use
himalaya --helporhimalaya <command> --helpfor detailed usage. - Message IDs are relative to the current folder; re-list after folder changes.
- For composing rich emails with attachments, use MML syntax (see
references/message-composition.md). - Store passwords securely using
pass, system keyring, or a command that outputs the password.
